Smith County deputy suspended after DWI

LONGVIEW,TX (KLTV) - An East Texas deputy is on leave and faces criminal charges after being arrested on DWI charges. Tyler Police say late Friday night, they found Smith county deputy Albert Hill passed out behind the wheel of his personal vehicle. Smith county sheriff's deputy 47 year old Albert Lee Hill was found unconscious in his vehicle and charged with driving while intoxicated. Leaving some of his fellow officers stunned.

"Yes especially when its someone you've been working with for 23 years, when you have an officer out there enforcing law and we are held to a higher standard to the public," says Smith County Chief Deputy Bobby Garmon.

It was 11:38 Friday night when police were called for a vehicle that was sitting at the intersection of Sunnybrook and Old Jacksonville Highway, it was there that they found Hill slumped over the wheel with his foot still on the brake. Officers woke Hill up and gave him a field sobriety test, with Hill having slurred speech and watery eyes. Police say a cooler in Hill's vehicle had bottles of vodka, gin and juice.

"I don't know all the details , why they were at this place what they were doing at this place, or what , there's a lot of unknowns that we don't know at this time, you have to decide what life you want to live, do you want to be a deputy or go out and live a life where you violate the law," Garmon says.

Investigators say prior to the incident , hill had been at a private party in a private room at the Time Out Gentlemen's Club on Highway 155, but he wasn't alone there were several other deputies with him. Chief Deputy Garmon says he's not sure of who the other deputies were or what they were doing.

"One thing I know is you can't be with your employees 24-7," he says.

A 20 year deputy, even officers we spoke with say Hill was well respected as a professional, which makes his arrest all the more puzzling.

"When someone goes out and does something like this , it not only reflects on the Smith County Sheriffs Office it reflects on anybody wearing a uniform," adds Garmon.

Deputy Hill was released from the Smith County Jail on Saturday on a $500 bond. Officials tell us that he is no longer employed with the Smith County Sheriff's Office.